I’m almost certain you’ve heard the phrase “Content is king,” with regard to modern marketing practices. And truly, content is king. The content a business creates can help foster growth and success by informing or engaging their target audience in a variety of ways.
Content can refer to blog posts, photos, live chats, as well as professional videos you create in order to connect with your prospects, clients and customers. Each type of content can be very effective in its own way, and all businesses should offer a variety of content, especially video content.
The Basics of Video Content
Video has become one of the most essential ways to provide information and engage an audience, but also prompt them to take action and capture valuable insights like: how many people watched, for how long, what did they do afterward?
Depending on where a video is being shared and with whom, variables like length, messaging, and call-to-action can be altered to achieve the best results. In terms of length, video is generally effective when it remains under 3 minutes long; people have fairly short attention spans, generally speaking.
BUT, depending on how invested your audience is in the information at hand your video could go longer and still be successful. On the other hand, when video is being used to reach out to those who are not yet acquainted or invested in what you have to say, it should most definitely be shorter.
And with all the social media and digital or mobile advertising platforms available, this short sweet-spot is generally under 30 seconds long. We call this: Micro content. Specifically, Micro video content.
What is Micro Content?
Micro content is short-form content that makes a bigger impact than you might think. The use of micro content on all of the top social media platforms shows exactly how effective it can be.
A very simple example of micro content is a Tweet! Twitter is one of the most successful social media channels around and it limits users to post content only 140 characters at a time.
It’s a micro-blog, essentially. Its whole platform is based on sending out quick bursts of information that are easily view-able, digestible and shareable. This has made it a favorite among many content marketers.
Other social channels, such as Instagram, Vine and Snapchat leverage visuals like photos and short videos as their micro content media. The speed at which new things can be discovered, viewed and pursued is essential to consumers everywhere.
Online users have simply become accustomed to micro content, which is why creating micro video content should become an essential part of your video content strategy. So how long should micro video content be?
Although platforms like Vine only allow you to post videos that are up to six seconds long, you can create micro video content that’s up to 30 seconds long. The platforms you choose to use to reach your audience will help determine the ideal length for your micro video content.
Why Should You Create Micro Content?
Now that you have a good idea of what micro content is as well as its impact, let’s discuss the actual benefits of creating micro video content. The following are some of the reasons why you should start producing and sharing micro video content on your social media channels:
Micro content contains clear messaging
It can be pretty easy to lose track of a message in a video that’s three minutes long. When a video is only 15 seconds long, there’s not much room for filler.
You only have so many seconds to get the message across. When your content is that short, your viewers are more likely to absorb what that message is.
Micro content allows you to be creative
Since there’s no room for filler, you have to find a way to get your information across quickly and effectively. This also means that you have to find ways to be creative in order to stand out from the crowd. Being forced to be creative is a good thing as it will make your content better.
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Micro content can be produced with a smaller budget
Shorter videos require less production, which means that micro video content shouldn’t cost you nearly as much as longer-form video content. Basically, you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck.
Micro content is highly shareable
As mentioned before, people are more likely to share short content on social media channels. People are more likely to watch short content and stay focused on the information. This in turn will get them to share videos they liked with their social circle.
Micro Content Examples
At this point, you’re probably wondering where the proof is. What are some examples of brands that have been able to leverage micro content in a successful way?
The following are a few micro content examples that should convince you of their effectiveness – and potentially give you some ideas for your own micro content:
Tasty on BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed is a well known social media news and entertainment company that focuses on content. One of its pages is Tasty, which contains micro content in the form of recipes.
These simple recipes are beautifully filmed and generally less than a minute long. There are many companies that use micro video content to showcase certain recipes or the ingredients in those respective recipes. Check out this example we recently produced for one of our clients:
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Nifty on BuzzFeed
Nifty is a page on BuzzFeed that provides DIY tutorials in the form of micro video content. These range from how to make a silly Pizza Pocket purse to how to build a cat scratch post.
Micro content has become an important part of content marketing due to it’s overall positive affect. People’s attention spans have shortened considerably as social media has developed over the years.
Although long-form content is still incredibly useful, when it comes to social media content, micro content is the way to go as it’s easier to consume and easier to share. Just keep in mind that just because micro content is short-from, it doesn’t mean that it’s best to produce it yourself.
Quality is still a concern, and a professional commercial video production company can help ensure it’s quality. They will help ensure that your micro video content has the best possible production value while also getting your message across in the most effective and efficient way possible.
